Nation's Top Truckers to Gather in Indy for Safety Showcase
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At Virginia’s trucking championship in May, FedEx Freight’s David Price took home the contest’s best-in-show blue ribbon.
Competing in the straight truck vehicle class, Price earned his fourth trip to this month’s National Truck Driving Championships and National Step Van Driving Championships in Indianapolis.
By winning the Old Dominion summer classic, Price joined a cadre of luminary FedEx and FedEx Freight drivers who won state trophies.
“It makes you feel pretty awesome because we all work together. We’re all friends, and we all feed off each other and practice and study,” Price told Transport Topics soon after his precision-driving performance. “Drivers, be safe out there, you know. Be safe and be patient and kind and just get back home safe.”
David Price displays his Virginia grand champion trophy, along with those he won for top score on the field course and pre-trip inspection. (Virginia Trucking Association via Facebook)
As for his training strategy ahead of nationals: “Just practice and be patient,” as well as find confidence in “years of accomplishments.”
Overall, of the 422 elite truckers from around the country that will meet for the 87th annual “Super Bowl of Safety,” about a third of the NTDC field this month will feature FedEx’s purple uniforms.
The FedEx and FedEx Freight standouts who, like Price, also earned state grand champion trophies are: Alabama’s David Hawk in 3-axle; Arizona’s David Coffel in 4-axle; Colorado’s Tyler Rogers in sleeper berth; Delaware’s Kevin Lemar in twin trailers; Idaho’s Adam Heim in 4-axle; Illinois’ Ritch Fundell in 3-axle; Indiana’s Brian Walker in sleeper berth; Kansas’ Terry Covey in tanker; Kentucky’s John Willinger in 5-axle; Louisiana’s Corey Mitchell in straight truck; Mississippi’s Michael Skinner in 3-axle; Nevada’s Matthew Hart in twin trailers; New York’s Mark McLean in 3-axle; Oregon’s Daniel Shamrell in 3-axle; Pennsylvania’s Michael Light in straight truck; South Dakota’s Josh Kelley in twin trailers; Tennessee’s Hobie Eirich in 4-axle; Texas’ Matthew Logan Montandon in step van; and Wisconsin’s Matthew Boenisch in flatbed.
Shamrell
Shamrell, 2017’s Neill Darmstadter Professional Excellence Award at NTDC, will be competing in his 18th nationals.
“Team is so important, you know, for me. And being part of FedEx has been a great thing for me. And that team concept. You talk about Roland [Bolduc], you talk about Scott Woodrome and some of the people from all over the nation that are just some of the best people that I’ve ever met in my life,” Shamrell said, reflecting on FedEx’s precision-driving fellowship.
“And being a part of that team has been one of the best things about being a competitor with the [NTDC] and being able to meet so many wonderful people and, everybody’s got the attitude of safety, and isn’t that what the truck driving championships are all about?”
He added, “I’m just totally thankful and glad to be a part of this whole [NTDC] family, you know, including FedEx, but including every company that is involved in this national competition and the state competitions. It’s such a great family atmosphere. Oregon has a great family atmosphere and it’s just a pleasure to go every year. And, you know, someday when I retire, I will still be a part of this competition as a judge or whatever they need me to do because it’s given so much to me.”
2024 National Truck Driving Championships
Who: Winners from nine categories at the state level who have advanced to the national competition, where a Grand Champion will be crowned
What: Contestants are judged on a written exam, pre-trip inspection and driving skills
When: Aug. 21-24
Where: Indianapolis
Ohio’s Woodrome, not competing this year, was NTDC champion in 2018 and 2019. Bolduc, from Connecticut, also has won twice, in 2017 and 2022. He qualified this year in the twin trailer division. Bolduc practices every weekend with Massachusetts grand champion Richard Sweeney of XPO at their Roadeo Research and Development Facility. Sweeney will be competing in tanker.
“Always excited to get a call for first place — always. It never gets old. And, right away, I focused to the nationals,” Bolduc said about winning the state title this summer. “It makes me focus more on the three things that I need to focus on. Because you’re not going against these people. I say they’re going to be in my class. … But it’s me against the course. It’s me against whoever wrote that written exam. It’s me against whoever placed all the defects on that truck.”
The Connecticut team is led by XPO’s Ernie Budlowski, state grand champion in tanker truck. Budlowski is aiming for a repeat in NTDC’s team category. Last year, Connecticut — featuring Budlowski, Bolduc and recently retired team captain Tony Spero — took home the tournament’s blue ribbon in that group.
“We have a lot of good competitors in Connecticut here. Roland Bolduc is one of them,” Budlowski told TT. Specific to winning the state title, he added: “It’s just an awesome feeling, especially since Connecticut took the team trophy last year at the nationals.”
Connecticut grand champion and team captain Ernie Budlowski (left) with Massachusetts grand champion Richard Sweeney. Both drive for XPO. (Eugene Mulero/Transport Topics)
Budlowski’s Connecticut squad features Bolduc, Antonio Ortiftelli of XPO in 3-axle; Sean Huckaby of A. Duie Pyle in 4-axle; FedEx Freight’s John Greene, last year’s 5-axle national title winner, again in 5-axle; Dave Bonocore from Bozzuto’s in flatbed; Dave Pereira from Frito-Lay in step van; and XPO’s Derrick Caro in straight truck.
Last year was the Connecticut Trucking Association's first time winning NTDC’s state award. The team trophy is given to the state that records the highest average score.
XPO and Old Dominion Freight Line will be among the firms seeking to challenge FedEx’s tournament dominance. Old Dominion announced a company-record 41 drivers qualified to compete at NTDC.
North Dakota’s Drew Bartelson in tanker, South Carolina’s Blake Taylor in twin trailers, Washington’s Josh Friedges in sleeper berth and Rhode Island’s Donaldo Afonseca in straight truck won state-level grand championships representing Old Dominion. Afonseca will be among more than 50 rookies scheduled to compete on the national stage.
As he put it, “I kind of love the competition. I love the environment. I love the family of [truckers] coming in to compete and not just compete with each other; it’s just compete [with] the product — the trucks.”
Ten women qualified for nationals. Arizona’s Ina Daly, last year’s Darmstadter Award recipient, will compete in the flatbed division. In 2013, Daly became the first woman to win a national title. This month, her goal is to reach the final-round runoff to position herself for another title. The top five performers from each class advance to the finals.
“My goal would be to make the runoff [finals]. You know, that’s what I want to do. And then we’ll see where luck brings,” Daly said. “But I will work at it. I don’t have many. I’m older, you know. I don’t have too many more of these in me. So if I want to win another national title, I’m going to have to work at it.”
Did You Know?
The National Truck Driving Championships & Step Van Championships date to 1937 when it was known as the National Truck Rodeo.
Source: American Trucking Associations
NTDC competitors will gather in Indianapolis Aug. 21-24 for a convergence of acumen, acuity and agility. The 87th annual precision-driving forum will feature keynote addresses from leadership at the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and American Trucking Associations. Attendees will include federal, state and local government officials, industry leaders and the most recent grand champion, UPS’ Gragg Wilson of Nevada. Wilson will cheer colleagues and peers from the NTDC sidelines. This summer, he came up short at his state’s qualifier.
“They’re all champions. They all won their state classifications and everything. And they all went a year without any accidents, which is a great achievement,” Wilson said. “I know it’s kind of cliché to say it, but it’s something to be very proud of. I want to congratulate you all for doing that.”
Gillette
These elite drivers in nine classes will demonstrate excellence in a written exam of industry rules and regulations, a pre-trip vehicle inspection and an intricate obstacle course. The vehicle classes are straight truck, 3-axle, 4-axle, 5-axle, tanker, flatbed, sleeper berth, twin trailers and step van. The “Super Bowl of Safety” will culminate with an awards gala. Top performers in their classes will be named national champions. The overall best-in-show will be crowned as the newest member of the grand champion club.
“I would expect, if I were a driver, I would expect a challenging competition. This is the National Truck Driving Championships. You’ve earned the right to be there,” Patti Gillette, NTDC’s organizing committee chairwoman, told TT. “We are very hopeful that we will set the course, the pre-trip and the written exam to be a challenge, but be achievable and a great competition for everybody.”
Produced by ATA, NTDC sponsors include FedEx, Old Dominion, Walmart, XPO, A. Duie Pyle, ABF Freight, DHL, Samsara, UPS, Pitt Ohio, Bendix, Geotab, Netradyne, PrePass, SleepSafe Drivers, Tenstreet and Tyson Foods.
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